There is really nothing to like about waking up at 3:30am, driving to Robina, waiting around for 3 hours and then diving into murky canal waters. So it is really no suprise that I hated race 4 of the Gatorade Tri series. Still, I was a little shocked by just how miserable I was, especially after the swim leg. Even more suprising that I kind of want to do another one, despite saying "I am never doing this again" as I crossed the finish line. Here is my report on my first sprint distance triathlon (750/20/5).
Race day did not start too well. After racking my bike I went to put my wonderful Garmin 310XT on, only to have the band break. I didn't even have a spare waterproof watch so I could at least see my splits and have some idea of how I was going. To make the wait even more pleasant, the weather was miserable leaving me cold and soaking wet. My wave started second last, so the elites had actually finished before my feet even touched the water.
Swimming in a canal is most unpleasant. I usually swim at Ithaca or Bellbowrie pool, where I generally share my lane with one other person and swim in peace with good visibility. Today's swim was very different. For a start, the water was very murky so I could not see where I was going at all. I would swim a little bit of freestyle, look up and discover I was heading off course and realign myself, then the whole thing would happen again. This was one of the many reasons I just gave up and swam breaststroke. I positioned myself at the back of the pack at the start because I know I am a weak swimmer. I at least didn't have to battle with other swimmers for the first few hundred metres. I did have to do battle with seaweed and reeds however and I got myself tangled a few times. Then some people in the wave behind me caught up and I was getting hit and spashed. Then the girls in my wave who were still around me seemed to become quite aggressive. I think they all had a sudden panic that they didn't want to come last, and they didn't care who they hit or kicked on that mission. I had a few good wacks to my head and one in the ribs, making me very cranky. I thought I must have been dead last as I came out of the water, but race results indicate I was ahead of four other competitors in my category.
My transition went much better than in my first triathlon attempt. I had no trouble locating my bike this time and didn't waste time with socks. I was quickly out on the road on the bike. I was very excited to overtake those girls who got aggressive on the swim leg. I overtook a few people on the first lap but then I think I stayed in the same position until the end. The roads were wet so I took it very easy on the turns but some people didn't. There were quite a few crashes and stacks.
I was in and out of transition very quickly again. I didn't feel as stuffed on the run as I did last time, and I had swum and rode a lot further this time, so I think that the brick training helped, and I don't think I went out quite so hard. Again I overtook a couple of people at the start but then stayed in the same position for quite a while. The only wave behind mine was the team wave so sometimes it was hard to know who was in my wave and who wasn't. I assumed the runners who looked really fresh were in the teams so i was ok with them overtaking me. For the first lap of the run I was sitting about 50m behind a girl and I just couldn't close that gap. On the second lap she stopped for a water and I put my foot down, passing up the offer of a cup of water and moving past her (really who needs water with 2km left). I stayed in that position to the end and even managed to sprint over the finish line.
It was really just the swim leg that I hated, but I wouldn't say I really enjoyed the rest either. Still, I am interested to see if I can do better so maybe I will do another one. Maybe. I would rather run 100km though. At least the other runners are nice to me, and being slow over a really long distance is kinda ok. Also, I still find the term 'sprint' rather offensive. The only bit I sprinted was the last 100m or so.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
In Training
Alpine training has taken off recently. I have been doing some pretty long runs and feeling very strong. I continue to be a slow and steady runner. When I train with friends I am always one of the slowest on shorter runs, but generally keep up on longer runs, because I just have one pace - slow. A nice steady plod is what I need for Alpine though. Throw me in a half marathon tomorrow and I will fail miserably, probably taking well over 2 hours to pass the finish line. There is a reason I like the longer runs – make it long enough and I will eventually catch up to the middle of the pack!
In December I strung together a few weeks of good training. I was still only aiming to hit about 40km a week, with the odd week here or there where I went over 60km. I am mixing it up with lots and lots of cycling and swimming to keep me fit while avoiding the plethora injuries that have plagued me in the past. Two of my favourite sessions from mid December were:
City to Mt Coot-tha and up Powerful Owl – I packed a heavy bag and ran from work, through Milton and Bardon to Mt-Coot-tha where I met Chris and then we headed up one of my favourite trails, Powerful Owl. Chris had forgotten his headlamp, and my old Black Diamond really wasn’t going to do the job for two, so we called it a night after that. All up it was about 15km with a lot of steady ascent.
Mt Coot-tha hill repeats with my Alpine training buddies – It was one of the few days I actually managed to knock off work at 4pm whereupon Todd and I headed up to Mt Coot-tha (by car not foot) and met Tamyka. We then did hill repeats of Powerful Owl and another trail I don’t know the name of. Again it was lots of steady ascent and I think once again, I did about 15km.
My next good training session was my altered version of the Festive Fat Ass. Deciding that I didn’t want to get up at the crack of dawn, drive all the way to Payne Rd only to run on some trails alone after everybody took off at the start, I came up with my own training run instead. Susannah, Sara and Mark seemed to like my version better too, so we headed out at a much more reasonable hour from Gap Creek Reserve. It was a nice 25km run up to Mt Nebo where we stopped for some lunch before heading back down. At the top I checked my water and established I had a bit more than I had consumed on the way up, so would be fine to not refill. Bad idea. I think the run back was a lot hotter because the clouds had moved on leaving us rather exposed. 7km from the finish and I was out of water. Uh oh. Everybody else was running low and although I pestered Mark for some of his once (thanks Mark), I knew nobody else could spare any so I just decided to stop whinging and go without. I think I was quite seriously dehydrated. I felt dizzy and kept getting cold chills. I felt terrible because I really slowed everyone down for the last few kms as a result. When we finally reached Gap Creek Reserve, I guzzled down as much as I could stomach from the bubbler. We also made it back just in time, as the storm basically started as I was leaving GCR.
On New Years Day, Chris, Todd, Poh and I headed up Mount Barney. This was a hike, not a run and it was pretty slow going. Chris and I did our own thing, meeting up with Todd at different points. He was running ahead and then going back down to help Poh. We had to scramble up a lot of rock and Chris, not liking heights and a lack of stable ground, freaked out a little bit. I have now discovered how I can beat him in a race – enter us in an event that requires lots of scrambling and opportunities to fall from great hikes. Going up wasn’t too bad but on the way back down, he was really struggling. When we reached rum jungle we tried to find our way to Easy Peak, but seemed to get lost very quickly ( a result of not looking at the map, GPS or compass. I was expecting the path to be as obvious as the one going up and I am lazy. There was no clear trail, but lots of branches off trails. Being tired and hot, I decided I was over it. I promptly sat down on a rock, pulled out the map and GPS and figured out how to get back to Rum Jungle, rather than heading up. I am sure we could have found our way, but the whole thing was taking longer than I wanted it to and I was allergic to every plant and grass out there and decided I had had enough, so back down we went.
I had been considering doing Hares and Hounds on Jan 8, but decided I didn’t want to pay or get up at 3am, so again I organised my own thing. This time Todd joined me for a run from Gap Creek Reserve to Lake Manchester. This was quite a similar run to going up to Mt Nebo, but we turned off South Boundary onto Creek Rd eventually ending up at Lake Manchester and following Lake Manchester Rd South to the Picnic Area. It was a ridiculously hot day and Todd got a bit ill about 5km from the end. We had a short break before walking the rest of the way. I think he was dehydrated and over-heated. Not to worry, I think Alpine will not be anywhere near that hot! All up it was a 30km run and I was pretty happy with how I did, although I pulled up a bit sore on Monday. My right hip flexor was extremely tight and even on my run on Tuesday, I was still feeling it in my legs. I think these sessions have been pretty good and I am really happy that I don’t have any injuries. Three runs a week and lots of cross training seems to work for me. I am doing a sprint distance triathlon on Sunday. Other than the early start time, I am looking forward to it.
In December I strung together a few weeks of good training. I was still only aiming to hit about 40km a week, with the odd week here or there where I went over 60km. I am mixing it up with lots and lots of cycling and swimming to keep me fit while avoiding the plethora injuries that have plagued me in the past. Two of my favourite sessions from mid December were:
City to Mt Coot-tha and up Powerful Owl – I packed a heavy bag and ran from work, through Milton and Bardon to Mt-Coot-tha where I met Chris and then we headed up one of my favourite trails, Powerful Owl. Chris had forgotten his headlamp, and my old Black Diamond really wasn’t going to do the job for two, so we called it a night after that. All up it was about 15km with a lot of steady ascent.
Mt Coot-tha hill repeats with my Alpine training buddies – It was one of the few days I actually managed to knock off work at 4pm whereupon Todd and I headed up to Mt Coot-tha (by car not foot) and met Tamyka. We then did hill repeats of Powerful Owl and another trail I don’t know the name of. Again it was lots of steady ascent and I think once again, I did about 15km.
My next good training session was my altered version of the Festive Fat Ass. Deciding that I didn’t want to get up at the crack of dawn, drive all the way to Payne Rd only to run on some trails alone after everybody took off at the start, I came up with my own training run instead. Susannah, Sara and Mark seemed to like my version better too, so we headed out at a much more reasonable hour from Gap Creek Reserve. It was a nice 25km run up to Mt Nebo where we stopped for some lunch before heading back down. At the top I checked my water and established I had a bit more than I had consumed on the way up, so would be fine to not refill. Bad idea. I think the run back was a lot hotter because the clouds had moved on leaving us rather exposed. 7km from the finish and I was out of water. Uh oh. Everybody else was running low and although I pestered Mark for some of his once (thanks Mark), I knew nobody else could spare any so I just decided to stop whinging and go without. I think I was quite seriously dehydrated. I felt dizzy and kept getting cold chills. I felt terrible because I really slowed everyone down for the last few kms as a result. When we finally reached Gap Creek Reserve, I guzzled down as much as I could stomach from the bubbler. We also made it back just in time, as the storm basically started as I was leaving GCR.
On New Years Day, Chris, Todd, Poh and I headed up Mount Barney. This was a hike, not a run and it was pretty slow going. Chris and I did our own thing, meeting up with Todd at different points. He was running ahead and then going back down to help Poh. We had to scramble up a lot of rock and Chris, not liking heights and a lack of stable ground, freaked out a little bit. I have now discovered how I can beat him in a race – enter us in an event that requires lots of scrambling and opportunities to fall from great hikes. Going up wasn’t too bad but on the way back down, he was really struggling. When we reached rum jungle we tried to find our way to Easy Peak, but seemed to get lost very quickly ( a result of not looking at the map, GPS or compass. I was expecting the path to be as obvious as the one going up and I am lazy. There was no clear trail, but lots of branches off trails. Being tired and hot, I decided I was over it. I promptly sat down on a rock, pulled out the map and GPS and figured out how to get back to Rum Jungle, rather than heading up. I am sure we could have found our way, but the whole thing was taking longer than I wanted it to and I was allergic to every plant and grass out there and decided I had had enough, so back down we went.
I had been considering doing Hares and Hounds on Jan 8, but decided I didn’t want to pay or get up at 3am, so again I organised my own thing. This time Todd joined me for a run from Gap Creek Reserve to Lake Manchester. This was quite a similar run to going up to Mt Nebo, but we turned off South Boundary onto Creek Rd eventually ending up at Lake Manchester and following Lake Manchester Rd South to the Picnic Area. It was a ridiculously hot day and Todd got a bit ill about 5km from the end. We had a short break before walking the rest of the way. I think he was dehydrated and over-heated. Not to worry, I think Alpine will not be anywhere near that hot! All up it was a 30km run and I was pretty happy with how I did, although I pulled up a bit sore on Monday. My right hip flexor was extremely tight and even on my run on Tuesday, I was still feeling it in my legs. I think these sessions have been pretty good and I am really happy that I don’t have any injuries. Three runs a week and lots of cross training seems to work for me. I am doing a sprint distance triathlon on Sunday. Other than the early start time, I am looking forward to it.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Not My Year
I am not one for new year's resolutions or new year's goals. I generally have running goals all the time, although recently it is just to not get injured. So instead I will reflect on 2011, which I think was an ok year. I think some horrible things happened, but I still enjoyed it mostly. This isn't all about running, but I figure some people might appreciate the break anyways.
10 big events from the year that was:
1. Stress fracture - after a couple of months of pain in my right foot, a scan revealed a very nasty stressie in my left foot. 2 months in a moon boot and 3 months off running did my head in a bit.
2. Decisions - Am I allowed to mention it on the internet yet I wonder. To cut out anything I can't say, I had to decide if I would move myself, husband and K9s to NY city. After much deliberation and a whirlwind trip, I decided not to.
3. Oh Canada - I spent July in Canada. I love that country. Every time I go there it amazes me even more and every time I leave, it feels a little bit sadder.
4. My grandmother died - this is more something that happened to people that I love than happened to me.
5. Oxfam Trailwalker - I had total FOMO and entered Trail Walker as soon as entries opened. A few weeks later I got the diagnoses on my foot. My podiatrist did a lot of frowning whenever I brought up the topic of TW and we finally agreed that I should just walk it rather than run. At 60km I pulled out because my foot was killing me.
6. The real world - I started a new job. I am now a marketing professional. I quite like it. I miss the Eagle St crowd though.
7. Washpool 50km - The one ultra I completed in the whole year. Woot woot. This mattered a lot to me because it was a signal that I was injury free for the first time in a very long time.
8. Great North Walk - I got the honour of pacing the lovely Susannah for GNW. It was an incredible experience. I may just become a pacer instead of completing races myself in future.
9. Triathlon Pink - I got over my fear of swimming and completed a very, very short triathlon. I felt pretty chuffed.
10. Twins! I have two new nephews (and yet another arriving very shortly). After a bit of a scare when the boys decided to come VERY early, the boys are healthy and at home with their fantastic parents Michael and Jared.
10 big events from the year that was:
1. Stress fracture - after a couple of months of pain in my right foot, a scan revealed a very nasty stressie in my left foot. 2 months in a moon boot and 3 months off running did my head in a bit.
2. Decisions - Am I allowed to mention it on the internet yet I wonder. To cut out anything I can't say, I had to decide if I would move myself, husband and K9s to NY city. After much deliberation and a whirlwind trip, I decided not to.
3. Oh Canada - I spent July in Canada. I love that country. Every time I go there it amazes me even more and every time I leave, it feels a little bit sadder.
4. My grandmother died - this is more something that happened to people that I love than happened to me.
5. Oxfam Trailwalker - I had total FOMO and entered Trail Walker as soon as entries opened. A few weeks later I got the diagnoses on my foot. My podiatrist did a lot of frowning whenever I brought up the topic of TW and we finally agreed that I should just walk it rather than run. At 60km I pulled out because my foot was killing me.
6. The real world - I started a new job. I am now a marketing professional. I quite like it. I miss the Eagle St crowd though.
7. Washpool 50km - The one ultra I completed in the whole year. Woot woot. This mattered a lot to me because it was a signal that I was injury free for the first time in a very long time.
8. Great North Walk - I got the honour of pacing the lovely Susannah for GNW. It was an incredible experience. I may just become a pacer instead of completing races myself in future.
9. Triathlon Pink - I got over my fear of swimming and completed a very, very short triathlon. I felt pretty chuffed.
10. Twins! I have two new nephews (and yet another arriving very shortly). After a bit of a scare when the boys decided to come VERY early, the boys are healthy and at home with their fantastic parents Michael and Jared.
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